Until November (Until, #1)(50)
“I was, and then I found out that the guy was a total jerk and broke it off.” I look over at my grandma. “I'm not upset. I just want to understand why they split up.” Grandma nodded her head in understanding.
“What did he do? I mean, why did you call off your engagement?” Susan asks.
“He cheated,” I say and hear my grandmother inhale. I never told my father why I called off the engagement, so he was never able to tell her, and since I’ve been home, she has never asked.
Besides the idea of telling them that he cheated on me with my mom didn’t sound like a conversation I wanted to have.
“Well, I think that you should talk to him about it,” my grandmother says like she just solved all of my problems and I smile, shaking my head.
“I'm going to talk to him, just not on Christmas Eve. We should be having a good time visiting with friends and family.”
“Such a smart girl,” she says, pinching my cheek like I'm five.
“Thanks.” I smile.
“Okay, let me and your grandma finish these and you go visit with everyone,” Susan says, taking the knife and cheese away from me.
***************************
“Do you like it?” Asher whispered into my ear. It was Christmas morning. Both our families were over and most were still wearing pajamas. Somehow, everyone decided while they were drunk that we should all have breakfast and open gifts at Asher’s house.
Making early morning plans while drinking is not smart. I made the coffee extra strong and put out aspirin as an appetizer before breakfast. The first person showed up at eight. Asher kissed me and got out of bed. I hid under the covers, hoping that everyone would forget I was even in the house. This only lasted about five minutes. Asher came back into the room and dragged me across the bed then tried to stand me up, but I was playing dead and slumped into him, not even opening my eyes.
“Baby, we gotta make breakfast.” He laughed.
“No, all I want for Christmas is to sleep,” I said, trying to cuddle into his chest.
“You can sleep later,” he said while rubbing my back, but that was making me sleepier.
“I’ll be your bestest friend ever if you let me sleep.” He started laughing harder.
“As much as I want you to be my best friend, I need help making breakfast for everyone. I'm pretty sure that last night you were jumping up and down while clapping, saying how much fun if was going to be to open gifts with everyone this morning.” Crap, I did do that, but that was also after having four cups of eggnog, so I can’t be held accountable for my actions.
“I was drunk. It doesn’t count.”
“Hmm, so all the dirty things you said you wanted me to do to you last night don’t count,” he said, and I shoved my face deeper into his chest, hoping to block him out. I do not want to even think about what a drunk me would say to Asher.
“Don’t worry, baby. Tonight I’ll—”
I cut him off. I didn’t want to know what drunk me said. “I'm awake,” I blurted out. I ran to the bathroom and slammed the door before he could say anything else.
I made baked French toast and bacon. Asher made scrambled eggs that I swear could win awards. He uses whole cream and cheddar cheese. They melt in your mouth and each bite is like heaven. After we all ate, everyone was gathered around the tree. Asher pulled me into his lap so we could open gifts.
I had a hard time finding him something for Christmas, but since he was always on his phone at the job site, going through emails and putting together orders, I decided to get him an ipad mini. That way, he could have a bigger screen and wouldn’t be going blind from looking at the small screen on his phone. Plus, I got him a case that has a built in keyboard, hoping that it would make his life easier when sending email and placing orders. I also got him a few shirts and a New York Yankees baseball hat, not that he loved the Yankees, but I loved him in hats and I'm a New Yorker, so it was necessary.
After everyone finished opening gifts, it took me a minute to realize that Asher didn’t get me anything. I tried not to let this hurt my feelings but it did. He loved the ipad and was still playing with it as people started leaving the living room.
“I'm going to go clean up breakfast,” I mumbled to myself since Asher hadn’t taken his eyes off his new toy since he opened it. I pulled myself up from where I was sitting between his spread legs.
“Can you throw that shit in the closet for me, baby?” he asked, not looking up from the stupid ipad. I was starting to wonder if it was water resistant.
“Sure,” I grumbled. I picked up the stuff that I got him, along with the gifts that I got from our families, to take back to the bedroom. I set my stuff on the bed then carried his crap to the closet. I debated just throwing it in there, but I didn’t want to mess it up.
After about two weeks of me being at Asher’s house, I cleaned out his closet, put all of his laundry away, folded his T-shirts and hung anything that needed to be hung. I also organized all of his shoes. I loved his closet. I turned on the light without even thinking. I set his new shirts on his shelf when I noticed my metal framed mannequin in the corner. I did a double take then saw a huge dressing table in the middle of the room with all my odds and ends on it, including a cool jewelry stand and a standing mirror with swirly legs that looked awesome.